This is being peddled as a new invention.
A new ‘zero emission boiler’ costing £8,000 to buy and install was today pitched as the future – especially for those finding heat pumps too expensive or impractical.
The model designed by a start-up in Berkshire called Tepeo is described as a ‘heat battery’ which can hold electricity for days after taking it in when cheap and green.
The boilers are a white box filled with iron ore which work by using electricity to heat a thermal storage core, which will then heat plumbing pipes that run through it.
The unit, known as a ‘Zeb’, is programmed to take electricity from the grid at cheaper times of the day or when it is lower carbon, and the ore will stay hot for days.
It can then release heat to the radiators and water tank when it is needed, with the supply and demand controlled by a system based on the owner’s requirements.
That’s a bloody expensive storage heater.
Back when I was at school, water had a higher specific heat capacity than pretty much anything else. So to use stored heat to heat water, they will need a weight of “iron ore” greater than the weight of water to be heated. I don’t see that being particularly practical for a central heating and hot water system. You would be better off with a hot water tank with an immersion heater, if they were still allowed of course.
I’ve lived all over the place and have had several heat exchangers. They are quiet enough, not silent but ok, and they work fine down to about minus 4. Cheap to run and around 2 grand fitted. ‘New’ technology is not required.
What happens if the heat exchange works to down minus 8 or minus 10. Genuine question – because we had spells in those temperatures in the UK. If I don’t know anything about/what are ‘heat exchanges’, or these are just basic air or ground pumps. The air/ground pumps do freeze, then they draw heat out the house to thaw.
Tbh Ripper, I have no idea how it works. It had a big box with a fan in outside, directly connected to the unit inside which was like a wall mounted fan heater. It could also actively cool during summer, plus ionise the air (I smoke) so I thought it was quite nifty. When temperatures get below around minus 2 it will only keep the house at around plus 15, which obviously stops freezing but is a little chilly. A secondary heating source was occasionally required, but overall I thought it was very good, and very cheap to run.
Thank you for your reply. Your description looks to me it is a ground/air pump. The ground pump has a large cabinet install on the ground. The air pump has a large box install the half up on the outer wall (looks a aircon unit). A pump rather than stops, when it senses the temp near freeze, the pump goes into reverse to draw heat from the house, until the pump has thawed.
The pumps are more suitable for new builds but they usual terrible in old, draughty, inefficient insulation homes. Even 19C can very uncomfortable, more at 15C (a standard for room temp is 21C or 70F). Regards pumps, a need to a secondary heat source is flat out cheating – like the wind generation needs a diesel generate when the wind stops blows or the wind is too strong.
There much better ways to heat homes, but then, this no money in those. Did you hear about for example, the Griggs cavitation heater – needs just a motor, nothing more and produces boiler water instantly. This has been installed a fire station (USA) since about 50 years. A scientist was paid to shut Griggs down, but you can see it the installation to day working.
I’ll google the Griggs motor
I didn’t have one for ideological reasons, the one I’m thinking of was already fitted when I moved in. It would take the house from see your breath cold to toasty in less than an hour and cost about 6 quid a day in winter. I ever noticed it stealing heat when it was freezing outside, just that it would not get toasty.What I don’t understand is the cost of these new ones. I had one fitted at a different property, about 5 years ago, and it was around 2 grand fitted. Took the bloke about half a day to do it and having watched him I realised any semi competent bloke could have done it with a few hand tools and a drill.
Ho hum, another day, another grift, another mis-selling scandal to be.
My parents installed a storage heater on the landing in the 1970s as their ancient cottage had no heating at all upstairs. The dual tariff was part of the package so you could run the washer and other appliances at night and get cheaper electricity. It was only a couple of years ago that my mum replaced it.
My father has them. They are fine but £8k is a joke.
We had storage radiators at home when I was a kid… I helped my Uncle fit them as he was a Sparks.
Each one had a shit-ton of those bricks in them to keep a room warm for a day before re-charging again at night. I can’t imagine how big or how heavy the store would have to be to heat the water for radiators for a whole day.
Grift for sure…
They were a bugger if the weather turned out to be not as forecast.
Expecting a cold day, then the night before those lumps of iron have to be made really hot.
Then when it turns out to be warm, even if internal fan not used, the Windows have to be opened to get rid of excess heat.
Of course the reverse was true, but there was the option of using full price electricity to warm up those blocks through the day.
I like the way the words “Zero emmission boiler” are in scare quotes here. Zero emmission in the same way an electric car is, in other words not zero emmission at all.
Zero emissions is impossible if anything has to use any form fuel. You can hide the emissions but those will exist some way down line.